Border Collies Breeder G-Force Border Collies breeder of Border Collie pups for sale at this Louisiana Border Collie kennel. Rescues,Links,Classifieds and more.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Here are a few common questions people ask me about BC's. Most of the answers are just my opinion from years of breeding/training and handling. I
have trained not only many Border Collies but just about every other breed and mix breed out there too.
If you have questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer you.

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Benefits of Male v/s Female
Fact or fiction?
#1. Females make better pets than males because females are better with kids and a family.
#2. We know we want a female because a male will mark (or hike his leg) in the house.
#3 Females are more loving than males.
#4 Males want to fight more than females.

#1 There is no evidence that supports the statement that females make better pets than males. As a matter of fact if you are speaking of altered dogs most trainers,
handlers, groomers, and breeders will tell you that males can make a much better family pet than females. Males who are neutered at a young age and never have
the chance to develop the intact male tendencies usually are much easier to live with than even a spayed female Border Collie. Males who are neutered young are
typically more easy going, not dominant, great with the family and do not display the male dominance act of hiking and marking areas. Males who
are neutered young are happy to just be a loving pack member and do not have the desire to be the alpha in your home. I know in my home my males are extremely
loving with the kids and tend to want to see what the kids are up to more than my girls do. Also look at the competition dogs out today. Most of the top dogs are
males. People seem to think that only the males have raging hormones. This is not true. The females hormones are raging before, during and after her heat cycles
so depending on her cycle that can be a lot.
#2: Yes a dominant adult male will hike his leg outside, but that does NOT mean he should EVER hike his leg in your home. Actually I have owned dominant females
who will hike their legs too although not in my home! It is simply a sign of dominance. But if you get your male fixed at a young age he is less likely to hike his leg to
mark territory.
#3. That is just a matter of opinion. Some males are loving just like some females are loving. Now for most people who own many dogs both spayed and neutered
dogs and intact dogs will tell you that males are just as loving and sweet as the females. As a matter of fact it seems the females can act a bit flaky when they are
coming in heat, in heat and coming out of heat and they can turn from being very loving to a bit of a loner with people. Their hormones can get the best of them and
they may act a little off of their normal temperament.
#4 Males who are intact do tend to want to show their dominance more than neutered males, but intact females do too. As a matter of fact some of my worst dog fights
were between intact females who both thought they were the alpha female here. People tend to here more stories about males fighting for some reason but in
actuality males and female will both fight.

If I breed my female one time then get her spayed her health will be better in the long run. (not get too fat etc) There is no proof that early spay will cause more
problems than letting her be bred once then spayed. Also there are many benefits to spaying your female as opposed to not spaying her. To me this issue is so easy
to solve. If your dog gets fat, cut back to food, and make sure she is getting the right amount of exercise. IF after you have adjusted her food and made sure she has
the right amount of exercise she is still fat then talk to your vet about getting a blood panel and a thyroid test done. Don't assume it is because she has been spayed.
I have enclosed a link that explains the benefits of spaying and neutering your pets.

Why are there so many different prices for Border Collies?
(I know this is going to make a few people unhappy but here is my opinion and if they get mad then so be it. )

Price of Border Collies
You may have noticed there are many different prices for Border Collies. Prices vary for many reasons. In the last few years only breeders who do all the correct
health exams for BC’s could fetch a higher price for Border Collies and now that is not the way it always is.
Breeders who do hip and eye tests usually charge more for pups because they have more invested in the parents. Breeders who do OFA or Penn hip and CERF or
DNA testing charge more and are able to guarantee more. After all how can a breeder guarantee a pups health if they don’t even know if the parents would pass hip
and eye exams?

Some breeders will charge more if they do more with the pups. If a breeder has a lot of time, training,and handling in a pup they will charge more. In that case you are
more likely to get a pup that is well mannered, socialized, comfortable being in the home or whatever that breeder has done and do save you from purchasing a "wild"
pup who has not been handled. *Just because a person socializes pups does not mean they did testing so check!

Then there are:
There are breeders who when asked if they do hip and eye tests will say they have never had problems so they don’t need to test. (huh?) Others may say that their
veterinarian says the dogs are healthy. But without the proper tests who really knows.   Some of these will even offer hip and eye guarantee and don’t hip and eye test
the parents, so they give vague guarantees as a selling tactic.

Some breeders also sell females for a higher price than males. The only reason for this is that they are assuming you will be breeding your female and you will
eventually make your money back. I price males and females the same because the extra bits on a male or female are not priced any higher when they are born.. Silly
right!

There are also people who love pedigrees and they are not concerned with anything else. They are not worried about temperament, health or anything else just who
has the best pedigree with the most champion dogs on it. The problem is all Border Collies come from the same dogs and if you just keep breeding the same dogs
over and over you will end up with all the same things good or bad.

Now don’t get me wrong a champion pedigree is great as long as you know what you are doing when breeding, and you breed for more than a pedigree with a bunch
of champions and nothing else. People will sometimes say the dog goes back to (insert famous name). Well most of the famous dogs were bred a LOT so they
produced a lot of pups so there are very few "rare" lines. ALL Border Collies go back to one particular dog named OLD HEMP. So I guess we could all say my dog
goes back to the original Border Collie.. cause they all do.

COLOR SELLERS: This is so annoying to any breeder who knows anything at all about genetics!
There is no such thing as a rare color just people who sell for more money to people who think they are getting a "rare" dog. Please
go to my color page to learn more!

Color sellers only worry about producing this color or that color and charging an arm and a leg for it. Color sellers will advertise “we produce all colors” etc. The only
thing you need to worry about is just because a person has colors does not mean they know anything at all about genetics and if they do not know about color
genetics and breeding genetics they can be producing problems. So if you are seeking a specific color for breeding purposes make sure you do your research and
find a good breeder who knows what he/she is talking about. (just because they have had BC’s for 30 years does not mean anything they could have started out
wrong and refuse to change) You will see breeders who have colorful litters of pups and each color is a different price. Different prices are placed on pups who are in
the same litter for one simple reason in my opinion. Puppy buyers will pay higher prices because they think the color is "rare".   Why price one color in a litter higher?
Litter prices should be the same no matter what the color or sex of the pup. Border Collie breeders who sell on color or sex alone are not selling higher quality by
raising the price. All the pups in that litter typically are of the same quality unless there is a problem with a pup.

Merle: Is a merle a rare color? No a merle is not rare and it is not even a color. Merle is a pattern! You can get the merle pattern in any color. If you are breed a
merle to any color you will get merles. All a breeder needs to do is own a merle and they will get merle pups. (yes there can be a fluke and you don't get a merle but
in theory you should get merles in a litter if there are more than 2 pups)
I would never get a puppy from a litter where both parents are merles. A merle to merle breeding can cause puppies to have horrible defects. This type of cross will
produce problems and only BAD breeders will do this. PERIOD There is no excuse for breeding merle to merle.

Health tests? What for?
A vet must be a canine optimaligist if he is checking for CEA, a regular veterinarian can’t test for CEA. Most breeder have started DNA'ing dogs for eye disease. Also
a regular vet is not a hip specialist therefore hip x-rays need to be evaluated by the OFA or the dog should be Pennhip. The ABCA also recognized Cornell Vet.
Institute evaluations for hip x-rays.   If a breeder says that they do hip and eye certifications check and see if they really do. Please remember a regular vet can't tell
you if a dog has good hips or eyes no matter how long he/she has been a vet!

Mass producers and puppymills
What is the difference? Some say nothing, others disagree. Mass producers do health checks but puppymills don't. I guess it is just a judgement call. Typically
puppymills are the ones who are in for a quick buck and don't care about producing healthy pups. Mass producers are what some call breeders who breed a lot , but
do test for genetic health problems.

Want to know more about your breeder? Call the ABCA and ask how many pups that breeder has produced or get the ABCA numbers on the parents of the litter and
ask how many pups they have produced. You will need to take into consideration how big the litters are because a breeder may only have bred a female 2 times and
that dog produced 20 pups. So use your judgment. But you may be surprised to know how many times and the ages of some breeding dogs. Then find out if they are
really testing hips and eyes. Ask for proof of OFA or Pennhip and Cerf or Eye DNA tests.

Should I get two dogs so they will not be lonely?
When you are a first time puppy buyer I would consider this double trouble. I would suggest a person start with one and go through all the different stages a puppy
goes through the stages a "teenager" BC goes through and you are up for the challenge again go ahead. But when you have two pups you can not only have twice
the training, twice the messes to clean up, twice the vet bills and more. But you can also have a problem where the two pups will become so bonded to each other that
they will ignore humans or flip out if you attempt to separate them for grooming, vaccinating etc. Or there are those who tend to fight a lot if you get two of
the same sex and age. The dogs can also learn bad behaviors from each other. So not only are you trying to fix one dogs bad behavior but two.
So my suggestion is that if you don't think you will have the time and energy to keep a BC from getting bored or lonely research another breed that will not require so
much time and energy.

Are all Border Collies hyper.
This is such a common question. Every person is going to think something different or answer this question in a different way but here is my answer.
A well bred BC should not be hyper if living in the right environment. A BC needs to be well trained and socialized just like any other breed. But Border Collies tend to
get bored easily and a lot of pet owners do not keep them mentally and physically stimulated and the dog will then become hyper. A hyper dog to me is an
uncontrollable dog. Now you can have a very high drive do and if that energy is channeled into something good that dog can be a joy to live with. There are people
who are going to breed poor quality dogs and the genetics will play a part in the dogs overall character, but most of the problems dealing with a BC who is labeled
hyper are learned. A BC who digs in the trash when bored is not a hyper dog, he is an untrained dog. A BC who runs in circles in the backyard is bored and he has a
learned self rewarding behavior. That does not necessary mean he is hyper. That may be the only thing that bored dog knows to do to let out pent up energy.

Is a BC a good breed to get if I already have another dog? (The current dog can be BC or other breed)
Typically a BC will adapt into any family. BC's pups will just need to be trained not to herd the other dog because this is a real annoyance to most dogs and can cause
problems. But if you are concerned that BC's don't get along with other dogs that is not usually a problem people will have to worry with when bringing in a BC pup into
a family. You will need to make sure your current dog gets along with other dogs first no matter what breed you are considering.

Can I own a BC and a cat?
There are a lot of people who own BC's and cats and everything is fine. I have a cat and let me tell you she has most of my dogs thinking she is a mini tiger not just a
house cat. I think the key is to never let your puppy herd your cat. It may seem cute when a puppy is stalking your cat, but when he is full grown your cat probably will
not appreciate the cute factor.

What is the big deal about letting my BC herd my kids? It isn't hurting anybody.
The big deal is your little cute ball of fur will one day be a bigger dog with bigger teeth. You never know how strong that herding instinct is going to be and you do not
want your dog to nip at your child or any child for that matter as part of his herding. I personally have 4 children and I NEVER allow my dogs to herd my kids. I nip that
in the bud when my dogs are pups. My dogs are not allowed to attempt to herd my kids, cats or any other inappropriate things. This has NOT hindered the dogs
desire to work stock.

Do I need to own sheep if I want a Border Collie
There are many people who own BC's and do not own sheep. The thing you must remember is no matter if you have sheep or not your dog will need to be both
mentally and physically stimulated. So if you don't have sheep or for some reason the dog can't work your sheep you will need something else for your dog to do to let
out pent up energy. So find something you and your dog can do together.
EX: obedience, flyball, agility, Frisbee, dock diving, sar, swimming, soccer etc.